Paper-folding machine.



PATENTED FEB. 27, 1906. A.E.SEXTON.

PAPER FOLDING MACHINE. APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 17, 1903.

SSHEETS-SHEET 1.

VA.E.ISEXTON, PAPER FOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 17, 1903.

PATENTED FEB. 2'7, 1906.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

14-5: ll aegfor.

PATENTBD FEB. 27, 1906 A".- E. SEXTON. PAPER FOLDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 17, 1903.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

mg-sectors. -(lOV:Lt1OIl of the preferred form of machine,

ARTHUR E. SEXTON. OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. PAPER-FOLDING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 27, 1906.

Application filed August 17, 1903. Serial No. 169,817.

I To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR E. SEXTON, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Los Angeles,in the county of'Los Angeles and State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and .usefubPaper-Folding Machine, of which the following'ls a specification.

The present inventionrelates to machines for the'interfolding of strips or ribbons of paper inorder to form aweb that is afterward severed into short lengths of a size convenient for use.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a novel form of folding-machine by means of which the strips or ribbons may be handled with certainty and properly interfolded with each other without danger of tearing the strips during the folding opera- 'tion.

' A further object of the invention is provide a machine of this character in which the frictional contact between the paper and the folding devices is reduced toa minimum and objectionable strain from this source obviatcd.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character in which a separate inclosing and guiding means is formed for each strip or ribbon being folded, said inclosing and guiding means serving also to in stantly correct lateral movement of the strips or ribbons during the folding operation.

With these and other objects in-view, as will-hereinafter more fully appear, the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of:

theadvantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional plan View of a paper-folding machine constructed in accordance with the invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the same on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1'.

Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are views ori a somewhat larger scale, being cross-sections taken on the lines bearing corresponding designating-nu merals in Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating the product of the machine. Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of one of the fold- .Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional showing the upper folding-sector made in sections to permitits ready removal. Fi 10 is a similar view showing a modification 111 which; some of the partitions are'omitted. Fig. 11 is a detail view of the discharge end of the folder, illustrating a slightly-modified construction.

Similar numerals of reference are em:

ployed to indicate corresponding arts throughout the several figures of the (li'awings.

The machine forming the subject of the present invention is designed to .interfold strips or ribbons o cated in Fig. 7, t the form of a Web which is afterward severed in lengths tofor n sheets of convenient size, the bundles formed, by severing the Web be ing placed in suitable holder's or casings hav-'. ing a discharge-slot through which sheets may be successively withdrawn.

paper in the manner indi-- he strips being arranged 111,

single} Paper arranged in this way is convenient for; cigarettes, toiletuse, and other pur poses and I is of value forstoring and convenient handling of quantities'of Wrapping-paper.

In the folding operation the strips or ribbons are each provided with a central longitudi-- nally-disposed crease or fold, being disposed, respectively, in opposite directions and each strip receiving a leaf of the strips on either side, so that in the finished product the withdrawal of one sheet through the discharge-slot of a holder will result in the partial withdrawal of the next succeedthe fold-lines ing sheet and its presentation in convenient position to be grasped and withdrawn in turn.

In carrying out the invention I employa pair of sectors 10 and 11, .arranged on con- ,vergcnt lines and formed of either wood or metal. The lower sector 11 is supported in a suitable frame 12, and the upper sector'lO is hung from the frame by supportingbars 13. The two sectors diverge from each other from the entrance to the discharge end or toward the apex of the machine, being spaced from each other at the entrance and to the extent necessary to permit the free entrance oi the strips of paper to be folded, while at '1 o5' the discharge end they are separated from each other a distance approximately equal to one-half of the width of one ofthe strips;

Eachof the sectors'is provided with palrti tions, the sector 10 having depending parti- I 1 tions'14 and the sector 11 having verticallyl extending partitions 15. all of suchpartitidns inch is all that is necessary for Tactical urposes. fit the entrance end the mac no the space between the partition 14 and an adjacent 'artition 1511s ap roximatelye ual to one-ha 'f oi" the width 0 a strip or rib on to be folded, while at the discharge end or a e the distance is but little, if any, greater t an the thickness of the paper.- In prac tice is found much better to space the sectors a greater distance from each other at the transversely by engagement wit increased. The

entrance end of the machine thantheydisitance between each sector and the edges-of the artitions of the opposite sectoral; the disc. rge end, and while one-sixteenth of an inch is sutlioient at the dischar e and the space at the entrance end shoul be about one inch, so that a aduated spao ma be formed to permit this natural cur fie 'of th strips during the folding operation. The

wider space at the entrance end ol -"the ma chine permitsthe curvature of he stri s as they come from the supply-Poi v rs wit out undue increase in friction on (Stud strip; It is apparent that when the strip is curved tions at one end an tapers thence toward the flat of the stri at the roller that if the em trance end is oi contracted width the curvin of the stri s would be somewhat interfere with and t e friction on the strip would be aper to be folded i wound on rollers or reel; 18, havin suitable spindles mounted in racks 19, and at points adjacent to the entrance end of the machine are mounted guide-rollers 20, over the lower of which iass the strips from me lower rolls,

while tne stri s from the upper rolls pass under their guiding-rollers. In actual practice these partitions willtermiuate short of the apex in order to allowthe emergence of the folded strips in the form of a web at the apex, the web being" withdrawn by means of a pair of reels 22, adapted to engage with the opposite sides of the web, or in some cases the reels may be omitted and the side walls of one of the sectors continued tiimard the apex to form a gradually-contraclul dischargepassa o, as shown in Fig. 11, and any means or me iauisin may be ei'nployed. to withdraw the iin. 1rd reels.

in manufn riu the machine it is pre- .-G(,l ill? Lt 11/ i. hat 1. ii i L I ler i 1"" ppm in m i nuube of sections in. (LKJJA. to permit ready removal should it liiccoino necessary, ospcoiall y in the the partievent of accidental tearin of a strip or the choking of one or more 0 the passages between the partitions. This construction is illustrated in detail in Fig. 9, wherein the upper sector is shown as formed ofa number of sections 10, each carryin a partition. Each section has one or more ugs 24, which may be bolted to a crossbar 25, and when the lat- -ter is unbolted and removed any one or all of the sections 10' may be readily removed. The up or transverse bar 25 is bolted to standar s 26, that form part of the frame,

and said bar serves to support the several sections in proper position.

In the operation of the mechanism the strips of paper are drawn between the partitime, their central portions bein guided by the edges of the partitions and t e opposite sides or leaves of each lower strip being turned .upward by contact with the sides of the adjoining partitions, while the sides or leaves of each upper strip "are turned downward, the leaves graduall interfolding as the apexis approached an finally issuing from the new rowest endof the sectors in the form of a flat web of a thickness. depending on. the capacity of the machine.

Fig.9 illustrates the osition usually as sumed by the paper during the first part of the folding operation, the strips being each curvdtransversely and the frictional resistance being comparativel small. During the "whole operation of fold-m the strips are so curved transversel (that their opposite edges adually approac eachother, the bending ein accomplished in a manner somewhat simi ar to the bending operation as usually carried on by the fingers, where the edges of a strip or sheet to be folded are first brought together and the paper then flattened until the central crease is formed. This permits of a foldin of the weakest and flimsiest pa per, the fo ding operation being so gradual that friction is reduced to "a minimum.

In some cases the intermediate partitions of the upper sector may be omitted as shown in Fig. 10, and the edge portions of the upper stri s may be relied upon to form the central folrl line in the lower strips. The outer partitions or edge walls are retained in order to properly support the outer strips.

I aving t us described the invention, what is claimed is Y 1. In" a machine for interfolding strips of material, a air of superposed sectors each including a body portion, and a plurality of convergent partitions of contracted width, the spaces between said partitions affording passages in which the strips may be curved transversely, and interf'olded with each other without frictional contact of the partitions with the entire area of'the strips, the body portions of thesectors engaging with the mtral portions of the strips being folded.

2. lna machinofor interl'olding a plurality of strips, a pair of sectors'haying folding and guiding devices for theouter strips, interme-' .diate strips serving to mutually sustain each other. a

- 3. In a paper-foldin machine, a pair of sectors having strip olding and guidin members less in number than the number each sector and the e the opposite sector at t v e dischar e end.

5. In a machine for interfol ing a'plnrality of strips, a pair offsectors having edge partitions of plates and intermediate partitions, the edge "plates being continued beyond the ends of said partitions to form a contracted discharge-mouth.

= 6. In. a paper-folding machine a pair of sectors having paper foldingand guiding partitions, one of said sectors being formed 0 a plurality of longitudmally-extending and I transversely-separable sections.

1 In testimony that I claim vthe foregoing as my own, I have herete afiixecl' my signature in the presence of. tweti itnesses.

. ARTHUR E. SEXTON. Witnesses:

H. H. CLARK, EMMET H. Wilson. 

